Former Ohio State guard Bowen Hardman announced Saturday that he has committed to Akron.
Hardman is now the fifth former Buckeye to find a new home after entering the transfer portal this offseason, joining fellow junior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. to Michigan, fifth-year senior center Zed Key to Dayton, sophomore guard Scotty Middleton to Seton Hall and junior center Felix Okpara to Tennessee.
Hardman, who has two years of collegiate eligibility remaining, entered the transfer portal on March 28 after spending two seasons as a reserve for the Buckeyes. He appeared in 25 games for Ohio State across his two years with the program and averaged 1.8 points and 0.3 points per game on 45.5 percent shooting.
After receiving playing time only at the end of blowouts in his freshman season, Hardman saw his role increase off the bench in 2023-24, where he logged five or minutes in five games last season, including two Big Ten contests against Northwestern on Jan. 27 and Wisconsin on Feb. 13. His best game of his Ohio State career occurred against the Badgers, totaling a career-high seven points on 2-of-4 shooting from three, two of 13 makes from beyond the arc for Hardman across his Ohio State career.
Hardman, a Cincinnati native and former three-star prospect out of Princeton High School, will continue his basketball career in the Buckeye State for the Zips next season, a John Groce-led program that is coming off 24-11 campaign and 11-5 mark in the MAC that ended with their second NCAA Tournament appearance in three seasons, where they fell to No. 3 seed Creigton 77-60 in the first round.
Hardman’s career 44.8 percent mark from the three-point line could earn him an increased role with Akron this upcoming season, as the Zips shot just 32.4 percent from beyond the arc in 2023-24, which ranked eighth out of 12 teams in the MAC.
